Effective peacemaking requires walk and talk
And Jesus stood before them, and began to teach them: “Blessed are the peace wishers. …” No, no, I mean peace talkers. Oh yes, he said peacemakers.
A few weeks after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, I wrote about peace. Since then, “Iraq” began and continues; and now there’s a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah (with the people of Lebanon caught in the middle).
War is always a short-term solution to a long-term condition within the human spirit.
In that column, I shared some basic biblical information about “peace.” It’s time for a refresher course.
Biblical peace – shalom or salaam – is an active noun that refers to living in a state of “well-being.” We may confuse it with its Greek counterpart, eirene, which means “being in a state of rest.”
In the New Testament, we find at least three meanings to “peace”: peace as a feeling of rest, peace as reconciliation, and peace as salvation (“wholeness” or “completeness”). When we don’t consider these distinctions, we can easily forget that “peace” is more than tranquility or the absence of conflict.
When Jesus described “peacemakers” as blessed children of God in Matthew 5:9, he did not mean persons solely desperate for perpetual rest from the troubles of their lives. Jesus honored people who actively sought opportunities for reconciliation.
Rest has its essential place in the pursuit of peace, but it is not a substitute for that pursuit. Nor are peace talks a substitute for peace walks.
I don’t mean “walks” in terms of peace marches. I mean that effective peace will “walk the talk.”
Peace efforts need constructive actions to embody constructive discussions, or else the discussions mean very little.
Christianity is an incarnational faith. We believe God “became flesh” and was incarnated in Jesus.
As God in-the-flesh, Jesus embodied all that God intended for human beings to become. When we settle for less than that, our talks of peace crumble into pieces.
There’s no doubt in my mind or heart that I hold Christians (including myself) to a higher standard of attitude and behavior than I hold others. I believe strongly that we must embody as much as we can of what God intended human beings to become.
Most of the time, I’m gravely disappointed.
I’m not disappointed in those who sincerely try to walk the talk. I’m frustrated and disappointed that so many Christians-in-name make feeble efforts, or no effort at all, to raise their attitudes and actions toward the level of Jesus the ultimate peacemaker.
Too often we settle for a faint attempt to “keep the peace.” That usually means we do what it takes to avoid conflict.
We may pray for peace, but too often we cave in when chances to make peace present themselves.
Speed Leas has made a 40-year career teaching churches how to deal with conflict. His conflict-management work through the Alban Institute is well-known.
One of his lasting legacies is how he identifies what he calls “Five Levels of Conflict.”
In summary:
•Level 1 – “Problems to Solve,” where people try to solve their problems.
•Level 2 – “Disagreement,” in which people focus more on self-protection and saving face.
•Level 3 – “Contest,” where a person’s main goal is to “win” the argument and sees life only in black-and-white terms.
•Level 4 – “Fight/Flight,” in which people become unforgiving and coldly self-righteous.
•Level 5 – “Intractable Situation,” where the objective is destroy the “other.”
I expect more, much more, from persons who carry the Christian label – be it on their car trunk, around their necks or in their hearts. To give Jesus’ message and acts of reconciliation any credibility at all, we must walk the talk of peace.
I expect us to actively seek resolution, reconciliation, at Level 1 – “problems to solve.” I also believe that Jesus would move people toward Level 1.
To go to any other level is to deny our commitment to peace.
We must augment our words of “sweetness and light and prayer” with acts of persuasion – not coercion – and forgiveness, with acts that show we understand rather than misrepresent people with whom we disagree.
Don’t just wish for peace or talk about peace. Walk the peace talk in your own life.
Making peace: Please think of words that begin with the letters of the word “PEACE” and that suggest to you the hope, vision and the work of peace. For example: Perseverance, Enduring, Action, Community, Enjoy. Thank you for your help!